March 2021 K1 I-129F filers

[slavaskii 886]

3 minutes ago, OM&OL said:

I think it will be 14-16 months. 

Because every month is taking almost 2 months to finish it!

And it is beyond disappointing.

Because processing times are calculated two months prior, it definitely will be *at least* 10-12, but realistically looking forward you’re certainly right. About 1200 March cases are in play now up until 665, that’s about 20 days of processing alone at the current speed. To really finish us, they’ll be working into April. I truly don’t believe the systemic problems with I-129F will be fixed this year, and there is a very, very real concern this is going to be up to 2 years for new filers. 4-5 months just for March is wild.

[I129f49619 96]

12 minutes ago, dalindeck said:

Here's the end-of-day update!

 

57000 - 0 (=0)
57500 - 0 (=0)
58000 - 1 Approval (=0)
58500 - 1 Approval, 1 RFE (+1 RFE)
59000 - 3 Approvals (+2 Approvals)
59500 - 0 (=0)
60000 - 2 Approvals (=0)
60500 - 0 (=0)
61000 - 0 (=0)
61500 - 4 Approvals (=0)
62000 - 1 Approval, 5 RFEs, 1 Other (+3 RFEs,. +1 Other)
62500 - 4 Approvals, 1 RFE (+1 RFE)

63000 - 4 Approvals, 2 RFEs (+2 RFEs)

63500 - 4 Approvals (=0)

64000 - 0 (=0)

64500 - 6 Approvals (=0)

65000 - 3 Approvals, 1 RFE (=0)

65500 - 11 Approvals, 4 RFEs (+1 RFE)
66000 - 1 Approval, 3 RFE (+2 RFEs)

66500 - 0 (=0)

I posted a bit later today in case we had later updates, but today we're at 63 (+13) updates. It's concerning to see us going back to the previous ranges. I really want to know what caused the sudden influx of case processing before... In any case, I'll be back again tomorrow! Hope they get their process back together soon.

Literally what are they doing!?! So annoying

[David and AV 6]

Hello Everyone. Very bad news. 

We just past 30 days from receiving NOA2 (March 3rd, 2021 NOA1). 

 

I just called the NVC. They told me that the U.S. Consulate in Sydney, Australia is not processing K1 visas at this time. 

 

If I am not mistaken, this means that my Fiancé and I are separated indefinitely... I am beyond heartbroken. 

 

I am not sure if it is common. However, even after NOA2, your embassy may not be processing K1 visas.

 

[J&D1008 376]

22 minutes ago, David and AV said:

Hello Everyone. Very bad news. 

We just past 30 days from receiving NOA2 (March 3rd, 2021 NOA1). 

 

I just called the NVC. They told me that the U.S. Consulate in Sydney, Australia is not processing K1 visas at this time. 

 

If I am not mistaken, this means that my Fiancé and I are separated indefinitely... I am beyond heartbroken. 

 

I am not sure if it is common. However, even after NOA2, your embassy may not be processing K1 visas.

 

I'm in a January 2021 filer group on FB and a couple ppl from Australia who received NOA-2 in August 2021 are still waiting. They said the consulate was closed down for 5 months i think between June-December so there is backlog there. Not sure how long you will be waiting. Just be patient our day will come. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by J&D1008

[J&D1008 376]

1 hour ago, dalindeck said:

Here's the end-of-day update!

 

57000 - 0 (=0)
57500 - 0 (=0)
58000 - 1 Approval (=0)
58500 - 1 Approval, 1 RFE (+1 RFE)
59000 - 3 Approvals (+2 Approvals)
59500 - 0 (=0)
60000 - 2 Approvals (=0)
60500 - 0 (=0)
61000 - 0 (=0)
61500 - 4 Approvals (=0)
62000 - 1 Approval, 5 RFEs, 1 Other (+3 RFEs,. +1 Other)
62500 - 4 Approvals, 1 RFE (+1 RFE)

63000 - 4 Approvals, 2 RFEs (+2 RFEs)

63500 - 4 Approvals (=0)

64000 - 0 (=0)

64500 - 6 Approvals (=0)

65000 - 3 Approvals, 1 RFE (=0)

65500 - 11 Approvals, 4 RFEs (+1 RFE)
66000 - 1 Approval, 3 RFE (+2 RFEs)

66500 - 0 (=0)

I posted a bit later today in case we had later updates, but today we're at 63 (+13) updates. It's concerning to see us going back to the previous ranges. I really want to know what caused the sudden influx of case processing before... In any case, I'll be back again tomorrow! Hope they get their process back together soon.

So just a thought.....Back when i was waiting for NOA-2, around 2-3 DAYS out the week, USCIS would process 100-150 cases for one month of filers. Which of course is a nice amount. The other days saw less than 100 and every week it would alternate.  But even so this still kept the processing time around 7-8 months. So USCIS processing 100+ cases 5 days out the week for one month of filers is a low probability unless they hire more staff. And even so the just think about the people sending in RFE responses. This requires additional work on there end. if they want to catch up to a semi normal processing time of 7 months they would essentially have to process 200-250 cases a day and add additional staff. Don't think the majority of filers will see that 3-6 month processing time until 2023 or 2024  . 

Edited February 18, 2022 by J&D1008

[I129f49619 96]

58 minutes ago, David and AV said:

Hello Everyone. Very bad news. 

We just past 30 days from receiving NOA2 (March 3rd, 2021 NOA1). 

 

I just called the NVC. They told me that the U.S. Consulate in Sydney, Australia is not processing K1 visas at this time. 

 

If I am not mistaken, this means that my Fiancé and I are separated indefinitely... I am beyond heartbroken. 

 

I am not sure if it is common. However, even after NOA2, your embassy may not be processing K1 visas.

 

That is literally the worst! New Zealand and Australia really need to get their together! I'm sorry you're going through this

[DSBeijing 303]

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

Because processing times are calculated two months prior, it definitely will be *at least* 10-12, but realistically looking forward you’re certainly right. About 1200 March cases are in play now up until 665, that’s about 20 days of processing alone at the current speed. To really finish us, they’ll be working into April. I truly don’t believe the systemic problems with I-129F will be fixed this year, and there is a very, very real concern this is going to be up to 2 years for new filers. 4-5 months just for March is wild.

If current situation continues, April 2021 is looking at 11-13 months of waiting, May is 12-14 Months, people that have submitted in December are probably in 16-20 months ball park.

 

It is getting insane. 

I just hope Employment authorisations (EAD) are not as long, current reports are anywhere between 4-8 Months what is crazy.

[slavaskii 886]

35 minutes ago, J&D1008 said:

So just a thought.....Back when i was waiting for NOA-2, around 2-3 DAYS out the week, USCIS would process 100-150 cases for one month of filers. Which of course is a nice amount. The other days saw less than 100 and every week it would alternate.  But even so this still kept the processing time around 7-8 months. So USCIS processing 100+ cases 5 days out the week for one month of filers is a low probability unless they hire more staff. And even so the just think about the people sending in RFE responses. This requires additional work on there end. if they want to catch up to a semi normal processing time of 7 months they would essentially have to process 200-250 cases a day and add additional staff. Don't think the majority of filers will see that 3-6 month processing time until 2023 or 2024  . 

Yes, this is what I've been thinking too, when seeing people on other platforms assert that the 9-12 month wait is exaggerated and will surely be fixed. Thank you kindly for sharing what happened before; going from 100-150 and then down to 60 is quite strange, but I guess we'll have our answer if this repeats next week. Most likely yes, if they've systematically done it in the past, but unsure why it was stopped for so many months. I think it's very clear at this point that officers were taken off of I-129F adjudication, so maybe we're finally back to the old ways.

 

But, as you said, the old ways only kept the times stable - it didn't decrease them in any way. We'll see the final tally this week, but so far, we're around 350. If we get to 400 tomorrow, that'll still take us 4 weeks to clear everything out - nearly April 1st. Unfortunately, the time is going to be minimum of 1 year for NOA2 unless we get a miracle, which I do pray for. I am interested, though, in how COVID restrictions ending virtually everywhere will change things. While we've gotten conflicting information from Tier 1, if it's true people were working from home at "40% capacity," perhaps there's some good news in store. Or perhaps everyone coming back is what's led them to going back to that old system you were referencing.

 

Thank you again!

 

Edit: The one thing of hope I will say is that, when we were analyzing the February filers, we definitely noticed that USCIS was stopping before hitting March. They did not affirmatively move on to us until mid-January; they do indeed go by receipt date, though perhaps not as orderly as we'd think. I still remember that, from my congressional inquiry, USCIS said in January that they were working on clearing February 2021 filers - they explicitly mentioned the month. As such, I do believe that by the end of March, the vast, vast majority of us should have NOA2. I strongly disbelieve they will move on to April if they are categorizing us by months and aiming to complete them before moving on. So, at least, there is going to be a concerted effort to get us done before taking even more files.

Edited February 18, 2022 by slavaskii

[DSBeijing 303]

I tell my fiance everyday, just be happy we are May filers. Backlog is growing larger by the day, May is small month with 2600 cases, after it June, July, September... have in average 3000 cases per month.

That means that they need to do 140 cases a day just to keep current processing time. 

 

Every time they process less that 140, wait time for people at the end of cue grows larger.

 

Crazy how missmanged is USCIS

[lb119397 79]

Honestly, at this point what I would recommend is that as soon as you see your date come back up, submit an inquiry if you’d like, but also reach out to your congressman/woman and/or senator(s). I did not believe that this would help, so I held off on doing so. At the encouragement of others, I finally did. At nearly the 30-day mark (and the Monday after the estimated processing timeframe retrogressed to February), I received a forwarded email from my congressman’s office that included this verbiage from USCIS: 

 

Your constituent’s case is pending review with an adjudications officer. Due to the COVID-19 measures, all officers are working from home, we are unable to determine at this time how long the review process will take. (the reviewing officer has been informed of this inquiry) 

The bit in the parentheses made me roll my eyes, because I did not think that it would make a difference, but it just so happens that my petition was approved the day after they replied to my congressman’s office’s inquiry. I would push for any and all available avenues. Not to mention that in addition to submitting inquiries (myself and then would call USCIS and the agent would also submit one on my behalf), I also called every week, and I asked to speak with a T2 agent as well. Some people will claim that doing this will delay your case, but honestly, I feel that this helped me get my case finally approved. Otherwise, I would still be waiting in my group, which has not seen any movement in at least a week. 
 

 

[J&D1008 376]

14 minutes ago, DSBeijing said:

I tell my fiance everyday, just be happy we are May filers. Backlog is growing larger by the day, May is small month with 2600 cases, after it June, July, September... have in average 3000 cases per month.

That means that they need to do 140 cases a day just to keep current processing time. 

 

Every time they process less that 140, wait time for people at the end of cue grows larger.

 

Crazy how missmanged is USCIS

You so right...I saw a June and July chart and could not believe the amount of filers for those months. I think April is similar with 3500 filers. The only other thing to contend with is when the USCIS officers start taking spring break and summer vacations. 

[DSBeijing 303]

4 minutes ago, lb119397 said:

Honestly, at this point what I would recommend is that as soon as you see your date come back up, submit an inquiry if you’d like, but also reach out to your congressman/woman and/or senator(s). I did not believe that this would help, so I held off on doing so. At the encouragement of others, I finally did. At nearly the 30-day mark (and the Monday after the estimated processing timeframe retrogressed to February), I received a forwarded email from my congressman’s office that included this verbiage from USCIS: 

 

Your constituent’s case is pending review with an adjudications officer. Due to the COVID-19 measures, all officers are working from home, we are unable to determine at this time how long the review process will take. (the reviewing officer has been informed of this inquiry) 

The bit in the parentheses made me roll my eyes, because I did not think that it would make a difference, but it just so happens that my petition was approved the day after they replied to my congressman’s office’s inquiry. I would push for any and all available avenues. Not to mention that in addition to submitting inquiries (myself and then would call USCIS and the agent would also submit one on my behalf), I also called every week, and I asked to speak with a T2 agent as well. Some people will claim that doing this will delay your case, but honestly, I feel that this helped me get my case finally approved. Otherwise, I would still be waiting in my group, which has not seen any movement in at least a week. 
 

 

People should contact they representatives regardless of status, and complain about dire situation in USCIS. This is only way your voice will be heard. We did this, also people should be active on Twitter, compalind direct on Juddou twitter and Uscis twitch account

[slavaskii 886]

25 minutes ago, lb119397 said:

Honestly, at this point what I would recommend is that as soon as you see your date come back up, submit an inquiry if you’d like, but also reach out to your congressman/woman and/or senator(s).

If I may ask, did you inquire with your congressman before the inquiry date? I was planning on sending out a request to my other Senator tomorrow, particularly because by the time it gets into the hands of USCIS, it will likely be 3+ weeks and if I don't have NOA2 by then the case will be outside processing time again anyway. Last time it took 2 months for a USCIS response so I'm surprised you heard back so soon from them. 

 

And as a general comment to the rest of the replies in this thread: I'm so sorry this is hanging over your heads  

[MeG@Am 110]

It's sad and discouraging really.  But I'm honestly asking... What can we do????  I mean our representatives can't even do much even if we ask for their help.  Is there other route we can do other than inquiring and asking help from our representatives?

So does that mean that we just take what they shove in our mouth???  We take it or leave it?  

I hope I meet someone working in USCIS and ask what are they actually doing there?

I don't know.  Tomorrow is Friday... and they usually slow down on Friday.  Monday is President's day.  So I'm expecting maybe a lot of them taking a long weekend.  

😥

 

 

[I129f49619 96]

52 minutes ago, lb119397 said:

Honestly, at this point what I would recommend is that as soon as you see your date come back up, submit an inquiry if you’d like, but also reach out to your congressman/woman and/or senator(s). I did not believe that this would help, so I held off on doing so. At the encouragement of others, I finally did. At nearly the 30-day mark (and the Monday after the estimated processing timeframe retrogressed to February), I received a forwarded email from my congressman’s office that included this verbiage from USCIS: 

 

Your constituent’s case is pending review with an adjudications officer. Due to the COVID-19 measures, all officers are working from home, we are unable to determine at this time how long the review process will take. (the reviewing officer has been informed of this inquiry) 

The bit in the parentheses made me roll my eyes, because I did not think that it would make a difference, but it just so happens that my petition was approved the day after they replied to my congressman’s office’s inquiry. I would push for any and all available avenues. Not to mention that in addition to submitting inquiries (myself and then would call USCIS and the agent would also submit one on my behalf), I also called every week, and I asked to speak with a T2 agent as well. Some people will claim that doing this will delay your case, but honestly, I feel that this helped me get my case finally approved. Otherwise, I would still be waiting in my group, which has not seen any movement in at least a week. 
 

 

I haven't heard back from my Congressional inquiry I filled in December, soooo who knows